On October 5, 1918, Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros died. The pilot and French soldier during World War I was shot down the day before he was to turn 30, and a month before the war ended. And while he ended his life in the Ardennes, he is forever remembered in Paris. For in these two weeks his name is on everyone's lips, as the world's biggest clay court tournament, and the year's second Grand Slam, gets underway.
Roland Garros 2025
€56,352,000 will be awarded, with €2,550,000 going to the winners of the singles classes. And while Carlos Alcaraz took home the men's trophy last year, it was Iga Swiatek who stood out as the best woman. But who will win this year? There are many candidates, perhaps especially on the men's side as Nadal is done and Djokovic is on the rise. And even though we don't have the answers, we will cover each day in detail. Our experts will take into account form, playing style, surfaces, head-to-head matches, statistics and gut feelings when we publish our free betting tips and analyses.
But before we get to the questions that no one has the answers to, we need to take a look at the courts. Because whether you play on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Court Simonne-Mathieu or one of the smaller arenas, the clay will be just as iconic. And unlike the fast grass, or fast hard court courts, the clay kills a lot of the speed in the shots. And thus players with heavy serves do not have the same advantage. And aggressive players who rely on speed and short exchanges will find that the ball comes back more often than on other surfaces. Here you can expect to stand in the exchanges longer, and there are stricter requirements for stability. Tennis on clay is like a game of chess. Who can stand the distance?
How to place bets on tennis?
Odds are a capricious hobby. And tennis is perhaps one of the most difficult things to bet on. But at the same time, it is one of the most fun. Because momentum changes extremely quickly, and while a football match can be decided before the hour is played, a tennis match is not decided until the last ball is hit. A tennis match is not timed, and therefore it does not help to take the first set. You also have to perform in the next. And in a Grand Slam you have to collect three sets before you can go victorious in the locker room. So unlike football, where you can choose to defend a lead until the referee blows the whistle, in tennis you have to produce points on your own to get the match over the finish line.
In addition, you are punished brutally for a bad day. In football, or other team sports, both the left back and the right wing can have a bad day, and the team can still win. But if the tennis player does not have the day, the match, and the odds coupon, is lost, even if the opponent is initially ranked lower. So how do we take that into account?
Of course, there is no cure for losing odds. But our experts follow tennis closely and will be more likely to predict a decline in form. And then you can either bet against the odds favorite, give your opponent a handicap or bet that the match will be more even than the bookmakers expect and thus choose to go for an overbet.
What should you consider when betting on tennis?
Very often the marking odds, especially on favourites, are too low to have any value. But unlike football, a draw is not a possibility, and thus you only have two possible outcomes. So we often choose pure markings where the odds are even, or the value is good.
But in Grand Slams we often run handicap bets in the first week. Then the level difference is usually large, and while a win gives 1.35, a win with -1.5 sets can give 1.75. And if the level difference is very large, -2.5 sets can also be considered. The absolute biggest favorites often win 3-0/3-1 in the first week. Anyone who has thought far ahead, and preferably towards the end of week two, will benefit from saving their energy. NB! But make sure that the players who have been through the qualifying rounds are "recorded". While those who go straight to the main draw often need the first set in the first round to get familiar with the surface. This means that the first set in the first round can easily go over 8.5/9.5 games, and the matches can go over 3.5 sets.
As we move into week two, the matches often become more even, and then there are more overbets. For example, it can be over 36.5 games, or over 3.5 sets. This is also a bet we use a lot in the first week, if we see that the matches may be more even than the bookmakers expect.
But this is of course not an absolute. We make individual assessments before each match, and we especially emphasize playing style against the surface before we land on a bet. Because even though players like Fritz, Shelton, Hurkacz and other world stars are expected to win easily against weaker opposition, their matches can still go over 32.5 games on clay. Because if you are big and serve heavily, you often don't have your strength in footwork and endurance, and then you may need both one and two tiebreaks to see the match safely through. But more on this when our analyses are ready for publication. Let's talk about this year's athletes instead;
A power vacuum to be filled
In 1792, in Paris, Louis XVI was executed by guillotine, and the years that followed were chaotic. Many fought for power, and a reign of terror was established. And although things are likely to calm down considerably on the ATP tour, there is still a throne that is vacant, as King Rafa has played his last ball.
And it is natural to think that Alcaraz is the natural heir. He won last year and has been in the finals in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome this spring, where he won 2 out of 3. And especially the convincing victory against Sinner in the final in Rome was psychologically important. Because these two could soon meet again in Paris. In addition, the young Spaniard stands with an impressive 21-4 from the French Open, and even more impressive is that he has won 84% of his clay court matches.
But we have several challengers who could quickly make his term in office challenging. The obvious candidates among the gentlemen are;
- Jannik Sinner : The world's best tennis player has just returned from a doping conviction, and although clay is not his favorite surface, he showed in Rome that he can handle it better than most. His match against Ruud is one of the most brutal we have seen, and if he takes that game with him to Paris, he will be difficult to beat. But if he is to win there, he will have to learn from his mistakes in the final, because Alcaraz could easily find himself on the opposite side of the court by the end of week two.
- Alexander Zverev : Losing finalist here last year, and losing finalist in the Australian Open 2025. Zverev is solid on clay, and should get a Grand Slam soon. Maybe this year?
But we have a bunch of contenders, fortunately, and we imagine the following players could give the very best a tough fight for the title;
- Novak Djokovic : It might be wrong to elevate Djokovic here, but the legend is extremely strong mentally, and it would be dangerous to overlook him. Now that he has also broken off his partnership with Andy Murray, it is possible that he will start even more strongly. And a restart would probably not be a bad idea, as he has lost the first round in both Monte Carlo and Madrid to Tabilo and Arnaldi respectively.
- Stefanos Tsitsipas : The elegant Greek, with the even more elegant backhand, thrives on clay. He was in the final here in 2021, and should be reckoned with, even though the year hasn't been anything to write home about. He has fallen to 19th in the world rankings, and the tournaments leading up to the French Open have been a continuous decline.
- Casper Ruud : Our man has two final losses behind him in the French Open, and must be included in the equation when it comes to clay court tennis. Has developed both his serve and his backhand, and has become a more complete player since his last final here in Paris. Has also shown that he is in shape, and crowned it all with a victory in Madrid. However, the loss against Sinner in Rome was a real scratch on the paint. There we saw the difference between Ruud and the very best, and it is probably the heart, more than the brain, that makes us have him on the list.
- Jack Draper : The Brit has come on like a hotcake this spring, and played all the way to the final in Madrid. Few weaknesses, and usually has an answer to everything his opponents throw at him.
- Lorenzo Musetti : The Italian artist has done extremely well on the clay this year. An injury prevented him from giving Alcaraz a title fight in Monte Carlo, but he showed in both Madrid and Rome that he can give most people a fight on a good day.
Beyond these, there is a pair of exciting players. For Taylor Fritz is extremely good at tennis, although his style does not necessarily suit the clay as well, and De Minaur's footwork means that he should also be mentioned. Other players who could come in well into week two are of course Rune, Medvedev, Fils, Mensik, Machac and Dimitrov, while our two outsiders are Cerundolo and Rublev.
Although the Grand Slam has historically been annoyingly predictable, we know there will be surprises. And we're looking forward to trying to predict the correct outcome. But what about the women's tournament?
Polish Queen in Paris
Iga Swiatek has won four of the last five years here in Paris, and few dare to think that she will not take her fifth French Open title this year. But isn't it more even than ever this year? Is 2025 the year where we can find value elsewhere? Because the clay season has not been very encouraging for the unbeatable Pole. Early exit in both Stuttgart and Rome, and even though she made it to the semifinals in Madrid, she was humiliated by Gauff 6-1,6-1. So we believe it. And those who can give her a fight for the title are;
- Aryna Sabalenka : The world's best tennis player, and losing finalist in the 2025 Australian Open. Has an extreme mentality, and gets a lot out of her game on clay, despite the fact that power is her forte.
- Coco Gauff : Former finalist, and an extremely good clay court player. Also coming to Paris with finals from both Madrid and Rome under her belt. But we notice that she overturned the last hurdle in both cases, and that is a bit worrying.
But also on the women's side we have players who can challenge the best on a good day. And there are two in particular we want to highlight;
- Mirra Andreeva : The young sensation made it all the way to the semifinals last year, and has clay as her favorite surface. She's only 18, and that has to be factored in, but she's played well so far this year. She lost to Gauff in both Madrid and Rome, but could easily make it into week two here.
- Jasmine Paolini : Last year's finalist probably learned a lot from what she experienced back then, and she has played up strongly towards the French Open. Especially on her home court in Rome, she showed what lived in her small body, and if you can beat Gauff in such a convincing way, you can also win the French Open. And at 36 odds, no one can say anything about the value of such a game.
Now we won't be too tabloid here, because we'd be surprised if the winner wasn't among the five we've already mentioned. But Madison Keys won the Australian Open, and is starting here with the hope of going far. So is a newly separated Badosa, who split with Tsitsipas this month. Otherwise, we were greatly impressed by Qinwen Zheng in Rome, and her good form will be good to take with her to Paris. But that's where it stops for us. We can't see this year's winner being anyone other than these eight. So with that, we can move on to the most important thing; our long-term bets;
What are we playing?
We actually mostly deal with odds tips and analysis around individual matches, but before such big events as the French Open it's fun to have taken a couple of tickets before the tournament starts. And we had a chat with our two experts to hear what long bets they are thinking of placing;
French Open Men's singles
Vebjorn Karlsen;
Jannik Sinner is back – and he means business. After a three-month doping ban, he went straight to the final in Rome, beating Paul and Ruud on the way. His physique held up, his game was solid, and his confidence seemed intact. With the Australian Open title in his pocket and impressive performances in Rome, Sinner is one of the big favorites in Paris. The big question is whether he can manage seven five-set matches after such a long break, and whether he can break the Alcaraz code, which he most recently beat in the final in Rome. I believe so, and I'll make the following bets;
Jannik Sinner wins French Open (2.75)
Svein Inge Egeland;
For me, it was a long time between three players, and right up until the final in Rome, I was just as inclined to go for Sinner and Zverev as Alcaraz. But what Carlos Alcaraz showed in the final in Rome convinced me. He is the king of clay. And his ability to both cover the court masterfully and decide points is a deadly combination. We saw how he managed to get length on his returns, even when he was under pressure, and that meant that the opponent rarely got three into the court to deliver the final blow. He has a superior physique, which means he can endure, both in long exchanges and long matches, and his mentality means that he stays focused and sticks to the plan even if he comes out on top. In addition, he has had a great spring season, with three finals, two of which have ended in victory, and he is the player who can live with a favorite stamp and live up to it. So for me, the safest bet is to go for the favorite;
Carlos Alcaraz wins the French Open (2.25)
French Open Women's singles
Vebjorn Karlsen;
Is Swiatek and the French Open a better love story than Twilight? Even though Iga Swiatek crashed out early in Rome 2025, she is still the clear favorite to win the French Open. She has dominated Roland Garros for several years with four titles, including the last three editions. Paris is her territory, with a 35–2 win record and a style of play perfectly suited to clay: heavy topspin, precise footwork and the ability to control the rhythm of matches. The loss in Rome could actually be an advantage – she will get more rest, lower pressure of expectations and time to adjust. Swiatek has shown in the past that she can bounce back from disappointments, and no other player has the same combination of clay-court expertise and Grand Slam experience. So even if the tournament leading up to the French Open wasn’t perfect, she is still the player to beat in Paris. So I’m going to try this bet at nice odds;
Iga Swiatek wins the French Open (3.15)
Svein Inge Egeland
Again I was in doubt for a long time. 36 odds on Paolini tempted. But it was probably mostly because of value. And even I have to admit that it will probably be between Swiatek, Gauff and Sabalenka. And the form of the Pole worries me. It doesn't have to mean anything, and as Vebjørn points out; it can even speak in her favor, but for a long time I was locked on Gauff. She has been in brilliant form this spring, and finals in both Madrid and Rome tell me that she is among the best in the world. And the match that impressed me the most was probably the semi-final against Swiatek, where she won 6-1, 6-1. But let's not forget that she actually lost both finals. And she has also lost a final in the French Open before. But we shouldn't use the mental side against her, because she has already won a Grand Slam.
But when one struggles with form, and the other struggles to decide finals, my choice fell on the tiger from Belarus. And the world's best tennis player is by far in form, and with six finals so far in 2025, we have to go back to Martina Hingis and 2001 to find the last time it happened. And although clay is not her favorite surface, she was in the final in Stuttgart and took home the title in Madrid. And her raw power and extreme head could easily be enough. In addition, we should remember that she can play outside pressure. Few expect her to win, and she has minimal WTA points to defend here. And therefore I think she will improve her personal best by one round, and take home an even final at good odds;
Aryna Sabalenka wins the French Open (3.25)
Fantasy French Open
Want to compete with the others in the 90minutefamily? Sign up for our informal fantasy league. Everything gets better with odds and fantasy, and in addition to covering these two weeks with free odds tips and analysis, we will also discuss the choices we have made in fantasy inside our Discord server. Here's how to join;
League: 90minutefamily
Password: ZYLPQ
Link: https://gaming.rolandgarros.com/fantasy/#welcome/register?sponsor_player_code=yhwvumh&league_id=36218&league_password=ZYLPQ
Discord
Every day, every shot, defeat and victory will be discussed in our tennis channel in Discord. In addition, we will be hands-on at breaks or momentum shifts to get the most out of potential live bets. Join us here .
